and i remember in the 1990s once asking john mccain, is it possible? and he actually asked the question, is it possible to run for president and be true to yourself? he ran for president, and a lot of people would say he wasn't true to himself. i asked him a couple of months ago, what's the answer to that question? and he said, "i don't know." the average person watching these debates is looking for straight talk and authenticity, not what's going to happen in some other state or their state. what they're looking for is a projection that is of the true self, the true candidate. >> yep. the truth. chuck todd, give us a sense of your takeaway of the national polls. >> reporter: well, what you see is -- >> right track/wrong track and the trends we're seeing in this poll. >> reporter: internally, when you look at everything of the poll other than the head-to-head, you sit there and say, wow, mitt romney's got problems. the right track is moving, 57% say the economy is recovering. highest right track we've had in 3 1/2 years. the president's job rating sitt